Last spring, construction crews descended on portions of downtown St. Paul as major work on the Central Corridor light rail line began. Not long after, Jim Golden was staring down a gaping hole workers had dug out just a few inches away from his restaurant’s front door.

Customers were struggling to find their way into the Lowertown deli and sales began to fall.

“It has more of an impact on your business than you can imagine,” Golden said of the construction work, which he estimates cut sales at Golden’s Deli in half.

Downtown St. Paul businesses were first to feel the effects of light rail construction, but they are far from the last. Over the next three years, hundreds of construction workers will make their way down the Central Corridor route, impacting dozens of restaurants, retailers and offices along University Avenue in St. Paul and Washington Avenue in Minneapolis’ University Village neighborhood.

A host of organizations, from nonprofits to government agencies, are offering support programs to help businesses prepare and survive. Those initiatives range from consulting services to interest-free loans. (For a list of resources, see boxes.)

Last fall, the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce launched the "Discover Central Corridor" campaign. In collaboration, the Midway Chamber of Commerce will administer a marketing campaign this spring to promote those efforts and offer assistance. The chambers are working with other members of the Business Resources Collaborative, a public-private partnership charged with helping businesses survive construction, on the project.

As part of the campaign, the chamber is distributing a “tool box” to businesses along the corridor, which will contain marketing tips, including how to communicate with existing customers and reach out to new ones, said Kari Canfield, president and executive director of the Midway chamber. In addition, the group will host four events to provide businesses with advice.

The group also has launched a coordinated customer-loyalty card program for businesses along the corridor. Business owners who sign up can select the size of the discount they want to offer customers and change it at any time. For instance, they could offer a steeper discount during the weeks when construction activity near their business is heaviest, said Chris Ferguson, president and CEO of Bywater Business Solutions and owner of the Stadium Village Dairy Queen/Orange Julius store in Minneapolis. So far, more than 35 businesses have signed up to participate, said Ferguson, who has helped organize the campaign.

Tapping into business-support programs helped Golden survive the construction. (Sales are still down at the deli, but revenue is approaching pre-construction levels, Golden said.) He worked with consultants at the University Avenue Business Preparation Collaborative (U7), an organization that’s devoted to helping businesses prepare for construction, to develop planning and marketing strategies. “We took advantage of every program we could,” Golden said.

During construction, Golden focused more on growing the catering side of his business to help compensate for the decline in regular customer traffic. Social media efforts helped, too. His advice to businesses: “They should know that they are kind of in a war — not against an enemy so much as just a situation. Take it really seriously and prepare as much as you can. You gotta stand on your head and look at it from a completely different point of view.”

Stops for light rail resourcesReadyForRail.net, an information “hub” with details on programs, construction updates and other information: readyforrail.netMetropolitan Council, the government body managing the project. Construction updates and news on the corridor project: metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridorCentral Corridor Funders Collaborative, a nonprofit economic-development organization: funderscollaborative.orgUniversity Avenue Business Preparation Collaborative (U7), an organization that offers consulting and other services to businesses along the corridor: universityseven.squarespace.comChambers of commerce: Midway Chamber of Commerce (midwaychamber.com); St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce (saintpaulchamber.com)Other economic-development groups: Asian Economic Development Association (aeda-mn.org); Stadium Village Commercial Association (stadiumvillage.com); African Development Center (adcminnesota.org); Southeast Business Association (southeastminneapolis.com); Neighborhood Development Center (ndc-mn.org); Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (mccdmn.org/)The city of St. Paul has information related to proposed zoning changes along the corridor: stpaul.gov

Correction/Clarification

This story originally failed to report that the broader “Discover Central Corridor” marketing campaign was launched by the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce.